Doctor Who: Radio Free Skaro

It's not often that the Three Who Rule spend more than a minute dismissing Torchwood out of hand, much less being interested in a new series of everyone's tolerated younger, ganglier cousin to Doctor Who. But that strange event is precisely what happened (explained away with string theory and many a complicated equation, most likely), along with some pre Comic Con banter and oh yes, a commentary on The Empty Child. Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

Steven, one mighty pillar of the tripod that is the Three Who Rule, doesn't often succumb to the base emotions. Indeed, compared to the gutter-dwelling antics of Pedantor and the frankly borderline illegal conduct of Warren, Steven's unflappable facade is nigh-invulnerable. But when the fate of Pete Tyler in "Father's Day" comes into play, all propriety goes out the window. Tune in and hear his descent into madness...if you dare.

Katrina was back in the fold again this week (replacing Warren, who’s busy blogging in Banff this week), with the main focus of the Three Who Rule being to provide comments on Series 1 episode The Long Game. The trio never once went more than ten minutes without discussing the episode at hand – a new record? Along the way, various bits of news were covered, including the explosion of fandom (aka the closing of Doctor Who Forum at Outpost Gallifrey), the shrapnel of which, it was determined, landed well short of affecting your intrepid hosts. Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com

More news than you can shake a stick at and a highlight of the Eccleston era (Rob Shearman's "Dalek") being commented upon, the Three Who Rule blather on for an hour and a half about the happenings in the Who world for the past week (including a discussion on new companion Karen Gillan), and touch on the introduction of a Classic Series icon to NuWho. All this and the latest on Ian Levine and Lizo Mzimba at your fingertips on Radio Free Skaro!Check out the show notes on www.radiofreeskaro.com.

In a desperate bid to find someone who could give an unequivocal thumbs up to Series 1 tome World War Three, the RFS gang numbered four (Warren, Steven, Chris, and Katrina) for one of the few times in history to record a commentary for the episode. The result? No thumbs up were given, but neither were there definite thumbs down, mostly because the hosts were more encumbered in dealing with various innuendos, intended or otherwise.

With the regular hosts of Radio Free Skaro jumping ship left and right in order to avoid commentating on perceived Series One low point Aliens of London, it was left to Steven, Katrina, and, at the last minute, Chris to try and find something worthy to talk about for the Slitheen's debut appearance in Doctor Who lore. They succeeded in not going too terribly off topic, although the intrusion of the subtitle track from the 1964 classic series story Marco Polo didn't help. Have a listen for yourselves!

"The Unquiet Dead" was the episode next in line for commentary, but the intrepid investigations of the Three Who Rule have discovered a hidden message within this tale of Dickens, aliens, and reanimated corpses. Yes, it seems Russel T. Davies sees fit to force his sick preferences for matter in neither solid or liquid but gaseous(!) form down the throats of the public. Well, not on our watch, dear listener. What's next, marriage between a glass of water and a pineapple? The mind boggles.

HiSciFi, a weekly science fiction radio show that broadcasts out of Vancouver's Simon Fraser University on CJSF Radio, recently sat down to interview Radio Free Skaro's own Warren Frey about all things Doctor Who, as well as chat a little bit about this very podcast. Listen as Warren defends Peter Davison, exhumes William Hartnell (only to bury him again), and generally nerds it up with the radio hosts for nigh on 45 minutes.

There was no, repeat no news this week, save a couple of tidbit that were quite spoilery and best left to rot unless confirmed correct. Added to that was RFS dilettante "The Third Guy" was off at an event in Manchester called "Who at the Fab Cafe" (sounds made up). But while Chris had an imaginary good time, it was up to Steven, Warren and Katrina to pick up the slack and give their thoughts and opinions on "The End of the World".

As Radio Free Skaro celebrates the all important milestone of their 138th episode, they take some time out for this Wednesday Cutaway to sit around the fireplace, dig into their mailbag, and, for the first time ever, answer about half of the 22 comments and emails that the Three Who Rule have received since starting up this podcast nigh on three years ago. Will your comment from two years ago now finally be answered? Listen and find out!

With a gulf of unrealistic (and unwelcome) lack of Doctor Who stretching far over the (event) horizon, The Three Who Rule took it upon themselves to deploy their deadliest weapon: the commentary. Specifically, a look at the first series of New Who, starting with Rose. Fantastic!

The Three Who Rule deal with a dearth of real news the best way they know how,: with inane chatter involving the likes of superfan Ian Levine and his escapades on Twitter, Warren's continuing animosity toward the McCoy era and coming to grips with our loving hatred of other Doctor Who podcasts all while dealing with technical issues that forced actual editing. Come join the fun!

This week's Radio Free Skaro Wednesday Cutaway special is so special that it's been elevated to a new category altogether - a Wednesday Episode! With an official number and everything! It's elevated status is on account of the return of Neil Perryman, of the TachyonTV Perrymans, as an extra special guest. We speak with him about his impending climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro, as well as the recent returns of Doctor Who and Red Dwarf. And if you listen really carefully you might even hear when the next TachyonTV podcast is due...

The Three Who Rule were in fine fettle this week, covering a wide swath of news involving all the exciting goings-on on Torchwood, the Sarah Jane Adventures and even Red Dwarf. Truly, this was a momentous week for fans of British sci-fi adventuring. Truly. No, really.

The next Radio Free Skaro Wednesday cutaway is our laziest effort yet, a promo for our irreverent podcast for you to share with your friends or include in your own podcast to promote your favourite Canadians. Collect the whole set! Of 1!d5e61d731961388545d8d6bf7e256c21 -->

Radio Free Skaro welcomes back Katrina again as guest host, this time filling in for Warren, whose predilection for earning money to cover the cost of living prevented him from taking part this week. And, with the world of Doctor Who ramping up in advance of an actual new episode airing on April 11, there was plenty to talk about. But no spoilers! Spoilor has now been vanquished, so you may now listen to the show without fear of having future Who episodes ruined for you. As for the rest of the internet, you're on your own.

In the next of the RFS Wednesday Cutaway episodes, with no interviews in the pipeline, the Three Who Rule decided to actually put together a special episode themselves where the topic of discussion is if or when they think their favourite show might have possibly ever so slightly jumped the shark, with the discussion also turning toward the social commentary and forward-thinking it exhibited over its lifespan. Join in and see if you agree with the conclusions.Oh, and April Fools.

With all three of the Three Who Rule firmly back in their respective command chairs, it was back to good old fashioned sniping, infighting and jocularity as Pedantor made battle with both his old nemesis Rubbishor and a new, more deadly enemy named Sarcastor. Somehow in the midst of this pantheon of perfidious poltroonery some discussion of Doctor Who came into play, but not by any means on purpose.

Not strictly Doctor Who this week, but a cool interview all the same. The local chapter of SIGGRAPH (a group of computer graphics geniuses) brought Industrial Light and Magic special effects legend Dennis Muren to Vancouver, and Warren was able to interview him. Apologies for the dodgy audio during Warren's questions....the details are too boring to go into, but at any rate Muren's thoughts on visual effects, art and the motion picture industry are the good stuff.

With Steven currently roasting production codes out of his head under the fiery sun of Cuba, Chris and Warren decided mutiny was the appropriate response and welcomed Katrina (also known on Twitter as @xanister) to fill his gangly shoes. And not a moment too soon, as the Two Who Rule (and special guest) were inundated with a surfeit of news, both plausible and spoiler-diculous.

With only Comic Relief and a mini-SJA episode (story?) starring a flatulent Ronnie Corbett, the Three Who Rule had little in the way of solid material to mold into gorgeous verbal statuary with their mellifluous locution this week. But thanks to the power of digression, they managed to unleash a torrent of nonsense almost unparalleled in the annals of Skarosian myth and legend. And all of it for you, dear listeners.

Our Wednesday Cutaway series continues with this, our chat with Simon Guerrier recorded at Gallifrey '09. Simon has written many a Doctor Who short story, as well as several Big Finish audio stories - about which you will hear now!

In a surprising turn of events, this week's episode was chock full of news...an unwelcome development with a "The Next Doctor" commentary bearing down on the Three Who Rule like a Cyber-King hell-bent on justifying its own lack of continuity. Being the brave souls they are, your gallant hosts soldiered on and brought not only the most current of current events in all of Who-dom, but also a sterling commentary on David Morrissey's debut as the Next Doctor. Oh yes, and David Tennant made some sort of appearance as well.

In our ongoing Wednesday special series featuring interviews and such from Gallifrey ‘09 in February (just to see how long we can milk it), we bring you an interview with Doctor Who Restoration Team impresario Steve Roberts, wherein he discusses past and future projects regarding the classic Who DVD series.

Though the news was paltry (other than some serious SPOILERS for one of the upcoming specials near the 3/4 mark of the show), the Three Who Rule were able to bring their customary wit and verve to this week's proceedings, and even managed to create Rubbishor, a new crusader destined to unseat the cruel and debased rule of Pedantor. Watch this space for more exciting details on this clash of entirely fictional titans! Or...just listen to the podcast.

At Gallifrey '09, three of the most preeminent Doctor Who podcasts around - Podshock, Tachyon TV, and Radio Free Skaro - converged for a tell all panel entitled "So You Want To Podcast Doctor Who?", ready to dispense vital information to a room full of eager fans wanting to venture into the cutthroat world of podcasting. With three panelists per podcast, the panel was chock full of on-air talent; it looked like the Yalta Conference of podcasting. Of course, occuring at 11:00 AM on a Saturday morning, the energy in the room was far from palpable. And the party only really began once Damon from Tachyon TV started dispensing beer to all who wanted one (some of the panelists had, at that point, barely stopped drinking since the previous afternoon). But the panel's main goal was achieved - there actually more people in the audience than on the panel.Have a listen to the audio from the event here.

And so the post-Gallifrey exhaustion set in, and our stalwart heroes were left with nothing more than depression and a paltry smattering of news. And yet they soldiered on, digressing and discussing as before. Only..many weeks to go before Gallifrey 2010.

Radio Free Skaro's own Steven had the pleasure of interviewing Telos Publishing superstar David J Howe at Gallifrey 2009, in a discussion ranging from his reference works (most of which Steven owns) to his extensive knowledge of Doctor Who merchandise.

And with that, the craziest weekend in the history of Radio Free Skaro came to a close with an enervated Three Who Rule slumped around a microphone in their disheveled hotel room. They ran down their highlights (almost everything) and low lights (almost nothing) before jetting off to their respective patches of ground they call home, ready to come back to Gallifrey 21 next year and do it all again. Ah, the memories.

In the third of our (fictitious) award winning podcast pub chats with Doctor Who luminaries, Phil Ford (Sarah Jane Adventures head writer and writer of the next Doctor Who gap year special, "Return of the Bandrils") and Toby Hadoke (writer/performer of "Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf" and the revelation of the entire convention) dropped by for nigh on an hour and a half to talk about their experiences at the convention, their involvement in the Doctor Who universe, and offer general insight into what makes the show so great. During the chat, Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones from Torchwood) invited everyone (well, Phil) out to drinks somewhere else, and Phil did his damnedest to avoid giving away plot details for the next gap year special.

The Three Who Rule continued their blitzkrieg coverage of Gallifrey 2009 with not only a wicked hangover (Warren), jet lag (Chris) and a smug sense of clean living self-satisfaction (Chris), but also a sterling interview with one Rob Shearman, the scribe behind award-winning Big Finish titles such as “Chimes at Midnight,” “Holy Terror,” and “Jubilee,” which was later adapted into “Dalek,” the return of everyone’s favorite mean-tempered pepper pots to the new series. Also joining us was Jason Haigh-Ellery, head honcho of the Big Finish audios who was kind enough to supply us all with sweet, sweet, alcohol. Enjoy!

Later on the Saturday at Gallifrey, Toby Hadoke, hours before going on stage for the North American debut of his hit one-man show Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf, sat down with Warren to have a chat about the play and his love of the show in general. (Again, here's the audio, with the video version to come later) :Direct download: RFShadokeinterview.mp3

We at Radio Free Skaro are pretty excited about this : an exclusive interview with Phil Collinson! Phil was nice enough to sit down a chat with Warren. Check out the audio from it here (the video will be posted later!) :

For the first time in recorded history, in an event sure to be recorded in the annals of time across all universes parallel and otherwise, the RFS crew met in person at Gallifrey 2009 in Los Angeles, and thus was a podcast birthed from the loins of the Airport Marriott. And as a special bonus, John Williams and Neil Perryman of Tachyon TV joined in on the fun and regaled us with tales of Torchwood dodginess, Tomorrow People memories, and the utter strangeness of Sapphire and Steel.

In the last episode before the Three Who Rule arrive in Los Angeles and dispense their own particular brand of Canadian havoc, the news was sparse but the banter broad, ranging from Al Waxman's storied career all the way to....well, the shenanigans to come at Gallifrey 2009.

This week saw a surfeit of news for the Three Who Rule to chew over, and masticate they did as they analyzed, cogitated...and digressed into discussions of Matt Houston, black and white action figures, the questionable acting talents of one Derek Jacobi, and a beast named Pedantor.

The Three Who Rule had barely any news to discuss this week, but that didn't stop them from talking about the upcoming Gallifrey convention in LA, mysterious destroyed buses in Dubai, and (of all things) 80's Lee Majors vehicle "The Fall Guy." You have been warned.

The Three Who Rule plunged forward as usual into the exciting world of Doctor Who news and other related shenanigans, but took time to examine the gloriousness that was The Prisoner, the late Patrick McGoohan's psychedelic masterpiece. Be seeing you!

After a dusty couple of weeks battling Sutekh, the Hand of Sutekh, and mysterious fez-clad villains, Warren returned to North American soil from Egypt a little dusty but still full of verve for all things Who. Of course, now that the new Doctor has been announced, along with the airing of the Next Doctor, there was little in the way of real news to discuss, so the Three Who Rule made do with fawning over the impossibly cute Character Options figures due later this year, along with digressions into the works of Clint Eastwood and Tombstone, Kurt Russell's mustachioed magnum opus.

While Warren battles gun-wielding, fez-wearing servants of Sutekh, Steven and Chris discuss the big news of the announcement of David Tennant's replacement in Who's eponymous role. The Two of the Three compare the nascent Mr. Smith's ascension with the oncoming of past Doctors of yore and ultimately conclude it's far too early to know what to expect from this whippersnapper. The discussion by way of commentary of Ghost Light also occurs as the remaining hosts take on the much-overlooked Season 26 story, no doubt to the delight of the erstwhile McCoy-bashing Mr. Frey.

With Warren in Egypt seeking to be the plaything of Sutekh, it was left to Chris and Steven to hash out their opinions of the recent Doctor Who Christmas special "The Next Doctor". As if an RFS episode without Warren wasn't weird enough, both Chris and Steven were actually in the same room to record this week's installment. The resulting proximity meant that the duo stayed remarkably on topic, but still managed to find time to comment on Survivors, Coronation Street and Canada's chances at the World Junior hockey tournament. Behold!

The Three Who Rule were all back on terra firma (ie. North America) this week, and the usual Who-ish banter of course centred around the imminent showing of "The Next Doctor", due December 25th on UK TVs and computers worldwide. But that didn't stop the jaunty (and in the case of Chris, jet-lagged) japemeisters from venturing forth on the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (conclusion: crap), along with an altogether too long talk about the merits of various Star Trek series, before sauntering back to the matter at hand. Next week, Chris and Steven are left to their own devices, as Warren wanders to Egypt to battle Sutekh and save 1980 from Armageddon, seen through the TARDIS doors as terrible model photography and CSO.

For the first time in a long time, the Three Who Rule went sans commentary and digressed, postulated, and even went off topic (twice!) in the middle of a sentence. The hygiene of certain Sex in the City characters, Steve Coogan, Big Finish audios, and oh yes, the latest Doctor Who news headlines were hashed over, giggled at, and finally shunted aside as your gallant crew went completely off the rails. Hoo-ray!

And so it's come to this. At long last the RFS crew reaches "Journey's End," the final episode of Series Four, and a story that nicely sums up Who scribe Gareth Roberts term of "anticipointment." So much potential, frittered away in a fruitless wasting of the Rose story arc and Benny Hill-esque dispatchment of the Daleks. Still, Julian Bleach's Davros and the sad fate of Donna Noble rescued the episode from the Trash-Bin of Utter Contempt (next door neighbour to the Gun of Spite) and gave our three heroes much gristle to chew over, spit out, and look at askance.

More thrilling commentary, this time for the "Stolen Earth," clearly the best roller coaster ride of Series 4, if not of the entire run of the new series. It's all downhill from here though, as "Journey's End" is coming up next, and we all know how that turned out. Still, witticisms and nerdy banter ahead!

The Three Who Rule were efficacious in their praise for Turn Left, a tour de force performance from Catherine Tate and the best part of Rose's rather presumptuous arrival into Series 4. Of course, a good episode means we spend most of our time rapt in wonder and not actually commentating, but we made a special effort to lay down some bon mot as we enjoyed things being on Donna's back, Doctors dying and mirrors sending people sideways through time.Oh yes, and happy 45th birthday, Doctor Who.

"Midnight," Series Four's "Donna-lite" episode, got a solid round of "well dones" from the Three Who Rule, due to some fine acting and gold old-fashioned claustrophobic writing, harkening back to the old days of silver jumpsuits and very limited sets. We also covered what little there was to say about the two minute teaser for "The Next Doctor," airing this Christmas in England and very shortly thereafter on computers across the globe. Allons-y!

Chris ran into some serious technical difficulties this week, but eventually sucked up his pride and used a PC rather than his beloved Mac to deliver unto you, our loyal fans, a commentary of "Forest of the Dead." And that's it really, there was no news (other than a rather impressive changing of the guard in Washington, D.C.) to discuss, and for the most part the Three Who Rules stayed on-topic and focused on the episode playing out in front of them. Amazing.

Our commentary on "Silence in the Library" was upstaged somewhat by one David Tennant's decision to quit the role of The Doctor after the four 2009 specials. Fandom was agog, aflame and otherwise a-twitter with speculation on who the next Doctor will be, and we were no different, making this one of our longer prognostications. And we sort of stayed on topic every once in a while....occasionally. Also, as of next week we promise there'll be no more political appeals to our American listeners, for better or for ill.

Chris returned to the fold and lost no time flinging acerbic barbs in the direction of "The Unicorn and the Wasp," quite possibly the low point of Season 4, and certainly a story we mostly ignored in our commentary. One can hardly blame the Three Who Rule for their disinterest, but at least there's goings on in the Library (silent ones) to indulge in next week.